Connecticut Law Grandfathers in Some Gun Owners

A gun control bill that bans many assault weapons and high capacity magazines was signed into law Thursday by Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy. The bill was a response by lawmakers to the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December.

While the bill bans both the gun and the type of magazines used in the Sandy Hook shooting, current owners of assault weapons and magazines that hold over ten rounds won’t have to give them up.

“Both of these are grandfathered in,” says John Lender, a Hartford Courant reporter who covered the sandy hook shootings, speaking on Morning Edition Extra.

“So if you own any of these magazines or rifles, you get to keep them, but you have to submit to registration and new restrictions, and you have to put them on record by January 1st, next year.”

Lender says Similar bans have been proposed in congress, though it’s unlikely any of them will pass.he says President Obama’s strategy now is to bring the issues to a simple up or down vote.

“With the kind of long-term political goal of getting people on record, so over time…it becomes a liability to have on your record that you voted against gun control.”

The Connecticut law also requires universal background checks for anyone looking to purchase a gun. Background checks have also been proposed in congress, and Lender says that’s one of the only measures that may have enough bipartisan support to pass.